Damien Lucas

Naughty Dog have brought the curtain down on the stellar Uncharted franchise in stunning style with the fourth iteration ‘A Thief’s End’.

Thief’s End puts you three years after the events of Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception, and Nathan “Nate” Drake, now retired as a fortune hunter, has settled into a normal life with his wife Elena Fisher.

But his, and indeed your, world is turned upside down when his older brother Sam, long believed to be dead, suddenly reappears after 15 years in captivity seeking Drake’s help.

That is just a small taste of what is a truly exceptional piece of storytelling in a video game.

The stunning visuals more than match the story, though, in what is one of the best looking and most intoxicating games on next gen.

Uncharted is famous for its excellent gameplay mechanics and there is no letting up here with its trademark slick parkour, crazy combat and blockbuster action scenes literally leaving you breathless at times.

There is the welcome inclusion of a really fun multiplayer element too where gamers play as different characters in the series, and are tasked to defeat their opponents.

The Hunter can hunt its closest opponent, the Saviour can provide medical support and ammo to players, the Sniper can defeat opponents through the use of sniper rifles, and the Brute can defeat enemies using heavy firearms.

A fitting end to a platinum gaming franchise and now surely the early favourite for the 2016 Game of the Year.

Damien Lucas, reviewer

Plunder mode also returns, though it was scaled back to support only eight players.

Literally the only negative I can find about Uncharted 4 is that at times it is perhaps a little too long-winded.

Certain elements are drawn out far longer than necessary, but it is a minor grievance given what we have been treated to by the series over the last nine years.

A fitting end to a platinum gaming franchise and now surely the early favourite for the 2016 Game of the Year.